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Irezumi aka Reuben
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Joined: 28 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 08:33 - 24 May 2018    Post subject: Interview help Reply with quote

I have managed to get an interview within a product development role as a technologist, having only previously worked in medical assessment I'm now not sure exactly what to prepare/expect.

For part of the interview I need to undertake a 10 minute presentation outlining what I plan to do for the first 4 months in the role for a product that has been developed by the company.

Has anyone done anything like this before or can offer me a bit of guidance, perhaps anyone who has/does work in engineering/product design?

Thanks for any help.
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weasley
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Joined: 16 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: 09:25 - 24 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have pretty much described the jobs that are where I work - I'll have to be careful what I say in case you are coming here!

In reality the first 4 months will be spent getting your head around the organisation, the systems, the projects, the terminology and so on. You will need to quickly make sure you have access to the right things and have whatever training is needed to use them.

You may wish to outline in brief that it is important to understand how the product development role works with its stakeholders, such as marketing, sales, procurement, manufacturing and so on. You may also want to get to grips with the product's history - why has it been developed? To meet what need? What are the customer insights or industry drivers that have led to this need?

You might also want to mention the end user - is there a chance to get out and meet one/some? After all, the product is for them so it might be nice to know what they think about it, or about that type of product in general.

How far along is the development process? Is the final specification set or will you have the opportunity to influence or change it using the insights and experience that you bring with you? And also what next - when this product is developed and launched, there will presumably be the next one to work on.

What are the constraints of the product development? How much money is there for testing/development? What specifications or formalities need to be achieved? Timescales? How can you differentiate your product from others? Is there a limit in terms of how much it costs to produce this thing? What is the company's strategy - market share growth? Pile high, sell cheap? Profit growth? International expansion? Are this company the market leaders for this product or noobs? What is the competitive landscape?

10 minutes is not much time so I'd advise having a decent think about stuff and go for a clear and focussed delivery on what you think is important. Don't try to cover everything and don't waste time telling them stuff they already know, but make sure you get across that you know at least some of the stuff that is important to this role. If you are changing industries then you won't necessarily know a lot about the new one, but at least identify what transferable skills and knowledge you have and your ability to pick new stuff up and understand it, as well as demonstrating you have researched the topic somewhat.

And when it comes to the presentation, don't create numerous word-filled slides. I do a lot of technical presentations and I also coach on presentation techniques - my advice is that the presentation is YOU, not the slides. Use slides to illustrate what you are saying, not as a script. A simple image, a couple of captions or bullet points, important data can go up there (make sure it is legible) but if you want to say stuff and make sure they are listening to you, stick in a blank slide. If you're feeling brave, don't do any slides! Just talk enthusiastically and engagingly (if you can). Maybe bring a prop or simple way of demonstrating your point.

If you prepare well enough you will know what you are going to say and ideally lots of other stuff that you may not plan to say but may be useful if they ask questions.
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Irezumi aka Reuben
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Joined: 28 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 10:20 - 24 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks very much for the help, very useful.

Just had a quick look at your profile and says you are Oxford based, is this still the case?

If so then not the same place as the job is in a different part of the country.

As I understand it the product is already complete. They want someone to undertake further research into the product so as to validate it, and therefore create protocol for participant research as well as literature reviews.

From this help to create marketing, identify new markets and how to get the product to those markets and potentially how to expand the brand/product. It is partly a training role (as in I'm to be trained), but quite a specialist area so relatively high qualification needed.
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Analogkid
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Joined: 20 Jul 2016
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PostPosted: 23:44 - 24 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Irezumi aka Reuben wrote:
Thanks very much for the help, very useful.

Just had a quick look at your profile and says you are Oxford based, is this still the case?

If so then not the same place as the job is in a different part of the country.

As I understand it the product is already complete. They want someone to undertake further research into the product so as to validate it, and therefore create protocol for participant research as well as literature reviews.

From this help to create marketing, identify new markets and how to get the product to those markets and potentially how to expand the brand/product. It is partly a training role (as in I'm to be trained), but quite a specialist area so relatively high qualification needed.


You're not being interviewed by a Mr Aarons are you? Smile

All joking aside, good luck with the interview, and be yourself, if they don't like who you are it will never work anyway, if they like the real you, and you fit the culture (companies nowadays are making sure they have a balance of “types” in their departments, that way things get done, and there is more harmony) then you'll be happier than trying to be someone you aren't.
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thx1138
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Joined: 06 Oct 2005
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PostPosted: 00:17 - 25 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

practice your presentation over and over again at home
have a back up plan just in case all the/their tech goes belly up at presentation time - flip chart and a pen maybe

I've only had to do one, I did fine, but then I stuffed the interview up. Rolling Eyes So don't do that.
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Rogerborg
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Joined: 26 Oct 2010
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PostPosted: 11:16 - 25 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Irezumi aka Reuben wrote:
They want someone to undertake further research into the product so as to validate it, and therefore create protocol for participant research as well as literature reviews.

Surveymonkeys and forum spam?
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Irezumi aka Reuben
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Joined: 28 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: 14:25 - 25 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Surveymonkeys and forum spam?

Would be testing of elite level athletes and creating data to validate the product/publish research into the specific area.

Thanks for all the help. I'm pretty confident with interviews as a rule. Just never done a presentation like this for one, or been interviewed by such a highly educated and knowledgeable group in their field!
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 5 years, 308 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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